Contract for International Advocacy Senior Advisor consultancy services as per ToR

Terms of Reference

International Advocacy Senior Advisor

Save the Children

Position: Consultancy Agreement Save The Children – Ukraine Country Office

Duration: 6 months

Expected starting date: TBD

Location: Ukraine

Background on Save the Children

Save the Children is the leading global independent organisation for children. Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

We do whatever it takes for children – every day and in times of crisis – transforming their lives and the future we share.

Our vision: A world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development and participation.

Our mission: To inspire breakthroughs in the way the world treats children, and to achieve immediate and lasting change in their lives.

Our values: Accountability, ambition, collaboration, creativity and integrity.

We are committed to ensuring our resources are used as efficiently as possible, in order to focus them on achieving maximum impact for children.

Background information/context

Before February 24, 2022, humanitarian agencies were reaching 1.5 million of an estimated three million people in the east in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in Ukraine. The escalation of the conflict across the country has seen this rise to more than 12 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, nearly 30% of the total population. 7.5 million children continue to be in grave physical or psychological harm.

Save the Children Ukraine is committed to delivering against the movement’s international influencing strategy both on a humanitarian and a child right focused objectives, including child participation, inside of Ukraine. This agenda includes tracks of work on children’s safety and protection, accountability for grave violations of children’s rights in armed conflict, protecting education from attacks and other areas relevant to Save the Children’s work in Ukraine.

Objective

Save the Children Ukraine is looking to establish a consultancy contract with International Advocacy Senior Advisor supporting the development of advocacy papers with the focus on targeting international actors. The core issues of focus to be reflected in the papers are around education in Ukraine, protection concerns in the conflict-affected areas, particularly on children, area-based recovery model, and other cross-cutting related matters, consultations previously hold with children. The documents developed should be child-focused and child-centric, reflecting and emphasizing their voices as part of the policy influencing processes. The consultant will work on both public advocacy documents and those developed with intention of their usage in private advocacy efforts, while aiming to address critical issues and contribute to informed decision-making and strategic planning in the field. Details around public vs. private nature will be discussed and agreed upon during the inception meetings.

Scope of work

International Advocacy Senior Advisor will be responsible for leading the development of high-quality advocacy and policy papers to influence international actors, ensuring clarity, coherence, and alignment with Save the Children advocacy objectives. The work will be commenced based on the already available quantitative and qualitative data and information from the bigger research pieces, translating them into advocacy documents using appropriate style and language, while ensuring the usage of evidence-based approaches to develop compelling advocacy narratives and arguments.

Thorough research on the identified core issues, utilizing available data, reports, and consultations with stakeholders, including children, where relevant, the consultant will collaborate closely with Save the Children staff to gather insights and feedback throughout the document development process. The developed papers should be based on child-centric approaches to ensure the voices and perspectives of children are accurately represented in the advocacy papers, and that the final products are child-focused.

All Save the Children employees and consultants are expected to work in accordance with the organization’s safeguarding policies, code of conduct, and core values: creativity, accountability, integrity, collaboration, and ambition. These attitudes and beliefs guide our actions and relationships.

Key Services

The consultant will work closely with the project staff to ensure completion of agreed deliverables. All deliverables will be submitted on dates and formats mutually agreed upon in the contract and inception meeting. All draft and final documents will be submitted as soft copies. The following are the key deliverables, with tentative length and topics of write-ups:

1. Public advocacy paper on education in Ukraine (including summary and recommendations (approximately 16-20 pages (or approximately 8,000 to 10,000 words));
2. Private policy brief on education in Ukraine (including recommendations, approximately 5 pages or approximately 3,000-5,000 words));
3. Public advocacy paper on protection concerns within conflict -affected areas (including summary and recommendations, approximately 16 pages (or approximately 8,000 to 10,000 words));
4. Public paper on protection concerns affecting children in Ukraine (approximately 16-20 pages (or approximately 8,000 to 10,000 words));
5. Private briefing paper on protection concerns affecting children and families in Ukraine (including recommendations, approximately 5 pages or approximately 3,000-5,000 words));
6. Public paper on the outcomes of the held consultations with children in institutional care (including summary and recommendations (approximately 16-20 pages (or approximately 8,000 to 10,000 words));
7. Public paper on the area-based recovery model (including summary and recommendations (approximately 16-20 pages (or approximately 8,000 to 10,000 words)).

Qualifications and experience

Interested candidates should have at least the following qualifications:

• At least eight years of professional experience in advocacy, policy, journalism, or foreign affairs work;
• Demonstrable advocacy experience in child rights, protection, and related spheres;
• Extensive work experience and proven record in advocacy, policy influencing, communication and/or campaigning;
• A proven advocacy track record; the ability to speak and communicate effectively, and to tailor messages to different audiences while tackling sensitive nature of the context;
• Experience of providing creative and innovative approaches in developing new initiatives that contribute towards the broader objectives;
• Experience of successfully operating in an international environment with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures;
• Strong analytical skills with ability to present complex information in a clear and succinct manner, ability to analyse trends and report on key metrics;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including senior level briefings and advocacy work, both for internal and external audiences with appropriate attention to detail;
• Fluency in oral and written English;
• Commitment to Save the Children's mission, values and approach (includes child focus and equal opportunities).

Strongly desirable:

• Previous (I)NGO experience within humanitarian setting;
• Knowledge and experience of child participation and/or child led advocacy;
• Save the Children previous experience**.**

Reporting Relationship

The consultant will report directly to the Advocacy, Campaigns, Communications and Media Director, while maintaining communication with the project staff during the consultancy period.

Procedure for submission of expression of interest

To express interest in work with Save the Children, the consultant should submit their application, including:

• An updated Curriculum Vitae (CV);
• A cover letter clearly stating the area of expertise and highlighting relevant experience and capacity to undertake services listed in the ToR. It should demonstrate an understanding of the scope of work required to successfully perform the responsibilities;
• Financial quotation that indicates remuneration requirements per each service mentioned in the Key Services section of the current ToR.